Tomorrow morning, I expect you both to be here at 6:15 sharp. Now listen, you two. Where you are going, and what happens when you get there, is strictly confidential. This tunnel doesnt existdo not mention it to anyone. In fact, from the time you step through this door until whenever you return, you are to speak to no one outside the organization, for any reason. Leave your phones at homethey wont be necessary where youre going. Is that understood?
Yes, Dante said immediately, but I wrinkled my nose, staring down the tunnel to where it vanished into the dark. A hidden passageway in our own basement? What other secrets were hiding in these walls? I wondered. And was this level of paranoia normal for Talon, or were Dante and I special for some reason?
Curiosity flared, and I stepped forward, but Liam quickly shut the door again, locking me out. I frowned and watched the key vanish into his pocket, wondering if he would ever leave it sitting unattended on a dresser. It would probably be too much trouble to borrow the key and slip down the passageway alone, especially if I had to wait only till tomorrow to find out where it went. Still, I was curious.
Where does the tunnel go? I asked as he shooed us up the stairs again.
Liam grunted. There is no tunnel, he said briskly as we stepped into the kitchen. This is a perfectly normal household.
I rolled my eyes. Fine. The nonexistent secret passageway that were not supposed to talk about, I get it. Where does it go?
Youll see tomorrow.
And I did. The next morning, I hurried downstairs with Dante to find the door already unlocked for us. Pulling it open with a creak, I peered into the corridor, lit sparsely with bare bulbs every twenty or so feet, then grinned back at my brother.
Do you think itll take us to a secret underground cave full of dragons and treasure?
He smirked. What is this, a Tolkien novel? I very seriously doubt it.
Youre no fun at all.
We followed the straight, narrow passageway for maybe three blocks, until it ended at a flight of stairs with another simple wooden door at the top. Eager and curious, I pushed it open, but there was no looming cavern beyond the frame, no circle of dragons waiting for us, no bustling, underground facility with computer terminals lining the walls.
Through the door sat a clean but very plain-looking garage. It had cracked cement floors, no windows and was wide enough to hold at least two vehicles. The double doors were shut, and the shelves lining the walls were filled with normal garage-y things: tools and hoses and old bike tires and such. Not counting the secret tunnel wed just come through, it was disappointingly normal in every way. Except, of course, for the pair of black sedans already humming in the center of the carport.
The drivers doors opened, and two men stepped out, dressed in identical black suits with dark glasses. As one, they turned and opened each of their passenger doors, then stood beside the cars, hands folded in front of them, waiting.
I eyed the men warily. I guess were supposed to go with you?
Yes, maam, one of them answered, staring straight ahead.
I suppressed a wince. I hated being called maam. And, theres two of you because...?
Were to drive you to your destinations, maam, the human answered, as though that was obvious. Though he still didnt look at me. I blinked.
Separately?
Yes, maam. That is correct.
I frowned. Dante and I never did anything separately. All our classes, schoolwork, activities, events, everything, had been done together. I didnt like the idea of my brother being taken away in a strange car with a strange human to a place I knew nothing about. Cant we drive there together? I asked.
Im afraid that is impossible, maam. The humans voice was polite but firm. You are not going to the same place.
Even more wary now, I crossed my arms, but Dante stepped up behind me, brushing my elbow. Come on, he whispered as I glanced at him. Dont be stubborn. Talon ordered thiswe have to do what they say.
I sighed. He was right; if Talon had set this up, there was nothing I could do. Fine, I muttered, and looked back at the drivers. Which car is mine? I asked.
It doesnt matter, maam.
Before I could reply, Dante stepped around me, walked over to one of the cars and slid into the back. His driver briskly shut the door, walked around to his side and shut his own door behind him.
That left me. Swallowing a growl, I walked to the remaining car, ignoring my driver, and plopped into the backseat. As the garage doors lifted and we backed out into the sunlight, I turned to watch the other car, hoping for a final glimpse of my brother in the backseat. But the windows were tinted, and I couldnt see him as the sedans pulled onto the road and sped away in opposite directions.
The drive was short and silent. I knew better than to ask where we were going. Resting an elbow on the door, I gazed out the window, watching the town flash by, until we pulled into the parking lot of a plain-looking office building. It was several stories high, with lots of dark glass windows that reflected the cloudless sky.
The driver pulled around the building and came to a stop in front of a loading dock in the back. The metal door was tightly sealed, but an entryway stood open beside it, dark and beckoning. I sighed.
Leaving the car and the driver, who still said nothing to me, I walked into the building and followed the long tile hallway until I came to an open door at the end. Beyond the frame was an office, with a metal stool sitting in front of an enormous wooden desk. A plush leather chair swiveled as I came in, and the blond woman in black Armani smiled at me across the floor.
Hello, hatchling, Scary Talon Lady greeted, lacing perfect, red-tinted nails under her chin. Youre late.
I swallowed hard and didnt answer. One did not talk back to ones elders, especially if ones elders had a few hundred pounds advantage and the knowledge of several mortal life spans to back them up. The womans poisonous green eyes watched me a moment longer, and her lips curled faintly in amusement, before she gestured at the stool. Sit.
I did. The metal stool was hard and uncomfortable, probably on purpose. Scary Talon Lady leaned back in her chair and crossed her long legs, still continuing to watch me with the unblinking stare of a predator.
Well, here we are, she said at last. And I bet youre wondering why, arent you? She raised an eyebrow at my continued silence. Dont be afraid to talk to me, hatchling. At least, not today. Talons senior vice president himself asked me to take over your training, but right now, this is just an introduction. Student to teacher. The faint smile vanished then, and her voice went hard. Make no mistake about itafter today, things will become much more difficult. You are going to struggle, and you are going to get hurt. It is not going to be easy for you. So, if you have any questions, hatchling, now is the time to ask them.
My stomach twisted. What am I being trained for? I almost whispered.
Survival, Scary Talon Lady answered without hesitation, and elaborated. To survive a world that, if it knew what you really were, would stop at nothing to see you destroyed. She paused to let the gravity of that statement sink in, before continuing. All our kind must learn to defend ourselves, and to be on the lookout for those who would do us harm. Who would drive us to extinction, if they could. They almost succeeded, once. We cannot let that happen again. She paused again, appraising me over the desktop. Tell me, hatchling, she said. What is the greatest threat to our survival? Why did we nearly go extinct the first time?
St. George, I answered. That was an easy question. From the moment we hatched, we were warned about the terrible Order of St. George. We were taught their entire blood-filled history, from the first dragonslayers, to the fanatical Templar Knights, all the way up to the militaristic order they were now. We were told stories of St. George soldiers murdering hatchlings, shooting them in cold blood, even if they were children. We were warned to always be wary of strangers who asked too many questions, who seemed unnaturally interested in our past. St. George was ruthless and cunning and unmerciful, the enemy of all our kind. Every dragon knew that.
No. That is incorrect.
I blinked in shock. The woman across from me leaned forward, her eyes intense. We nearly went extinct, she said slowly, because we couldnt trust one another. We were more concerned about our possessions and defending our territories than our survival as a race. And so, the humans hunted us down, one by one, and nearly destroyed us. Only near the end, when our numbers had dwindled to almost nothing, did one dragonthe Elder Wyrmgather us all together and force us to cooperate. We learned to become human, to hide in plain sight, to disappear into the throngs of humanity. But most important, we learned that we must work together for our survival. A single dragon, powerful as he or she may be, cannot stand against this human-infested world. If we are to thrive, if we are to have any hope for a future, we must all accept our place in the organization. Alone, we fall. As one, we rise. Scary Talon Lady narrowed her eyes, her acidic gaze cutting right through me. Everything we do, everything I teach you, will be for the good of us all. Can you remember that, hatchling?
I nodded.
Good. My trainer sat back once more, her lips curling in a small, evil smile. Because its not going to get any easier from here.
* * *
She was right. From that day forth, starting at 6:00 a.m. every morning, Id wake up to the sound of my alarm beeping in my ear. Id change, stagger downstairs to grab a bagel or a doughnut, and then Dante and I would meet our drivers at the end of the secret tunnel and separate. Once I reached the office building, Id walk into that same room, and Scary Talon Ladyshe never told me her name, everwould be waiting behind her large wooden desk.
Report, she would bark at me, every morning. And Id have to go over what Id done the previous day. Who Id met. Where wed gone. What wed done. Shed ask me specific questions about my friends, demanding I explain why theyd said a particular thing, or reacted a particular way. I hated it, but that wasnt the worst part of the morning.
No, the worst part was after the debriefing. Shed order me to the storage room of the building, which was huge and vast and mostly empty, with hard cement floors and iron beams crisscrossing the ceiling. And then the real fun would begin.
Break down these boxes, she would snap, pointing to a huge pile of crates, and stack them in the opposite corner.
Drag these pallets to the other end of the room. And when you are done, bring them back. Be quick about it.
Carry these buckets of water around the building ten times. When you are finished, go ten times the other way.
Stack these tires into pillars of eight, one in every corner of the room, as fast as you can. No, you cannot roll them, you must carry them.
Every day. For two hours straight. No questions. No talking back or complaining. Just stupid, monotonous, pointless tasks. All the while, Scary Talon Lady would watch my progress, offering no explanation, never saying anything except to snap at me to move faster, to work harder. Nothing I did was good enough, no matter how hard I worked or how quickly I completed the task. I was always too slow, too weak, too lacking in everything, despite her absolute, number-one rule: no Shifting into my true form while I did any of it.
This morning, Id finally snapped.
Why? I snarled, my voice echoing into the vastness of the room, breaking two of her rules at once. No talking back, and no questions. I didnt care anymore. The brick Id dropped had landed on my foot, sparking a curse and a flare of temper. And Scary Talon Lady, always there, always watching, had barked some kind of pithy insult before telling me to keep moving, faster this time. I was sore, my arms were burning, sweat was running into my eyes and now my toe was throbbing. Id had enough.
This is pointless! I exclaimed, shouting across the room. Youre always telling me to go faster, to be stronger, but Im not allowed to change? I gestured wildly to the mountains of bricks on both sides of the room, imagining how easy this would be if I could fly. I could get this done ten times as fast in my real form. Why cant I do this as me?
Because that is not the point of the exercise, was the cool, infuriating reply. And you just earned yourself another hour of carting bricks back and forth, only now I want you to count them. I will be keeping track, as well, and if you lose count, you will start all over again from the top. Is that understood?
I seethed, wishing I could Shift into my real form and blast through one of the skylights in the ceiling. Leave my sadistic trainer and her pointless exercises behind for good. Of course, I could never get away with something so crazy, especially in broad daylight. If even one human saw me, there would be chaos and panic and bedlam and doom. Even if no one believed what theyd seen, Talon would have to step in and try to mitigate the damage, which was generally expensive and something they didnt care to do. The Order of St. George might show up, as they always seemed to appear when the unexplainable occurred, and then someone would have to be called in to deal with that mess. Bottom line, Id be in a world of trouble.
Setting my jaw, I bent down and grabbed the brick, then hefted it to my shoulder as Id been ordered. One more hour. One more hour of this torture, and then the day was mine.
I dont hear you counting, Scary Talon Lady sang from across the room. I gritted my teeth, swallowing the flames that wanted to burst free, and snarled back.
One!
* * *
I couldnt get out of there fast enough. When the torture finally ended and I came out of the secret tunnel, I raced to my room, grabbed my board and instantly headed down to the water. I needed something to clear my head, and riding the waves was the perfect distraction.
Only, the ocean was being obnoxious today, too. It was a conspiracy.
The surfboard bobbed gently on the water as I continued to stare at the sky. A lone cloud, a tiny cotton ball far overhead, hung in the endless blue, far, far away. Closing one eye, I raised my hand and imagined cupping my claws around it as I soared by on the wind. I remembered the sun warming my back and wings, the rush that filled me when I dove and swooped and soared on the currents. Surfing was the closest Id come to that thrill, and it was a pale comparison. I wanted to fly.
I bet that rogue dragon can go flying whenever he wants.
I folded my hands on my stomach, thinking of him. It had been nearly a month since that brief glance in the parking lot, and since then, Id seen neither hide nor hair of the rogue dragon or his motorcycle. Not that I hadnt looked for him. Id kept my eyes open, scanning the beach crowds, the parking lots, even the dark corners of the Crescent Beach mall. Nothing. Dante never spoke about the incident, either, becoming evasive and busy when I asked about it. He wouldnt tell me what hed done, or if hed even done anything, and it annoyed me that he was being so secretive. If it wasnt for Lexis confirmation that G double B had, in fact, existed, I might have thought the whole incident some kind of lucid dream.